The bikes update: 1964 Royal Enfield 750, 1969 Royal Enfield 750 Series II, 1965 Matchless G15 CSR

Just a note that you will find links throughout my blog for various products or shops and builders. I don’t receive any funds to promote anyone. I just want to share my experiences in building vintage motorcycles. I hope this blog saves you time in your research.

The 1964 Interceptor is running well as can be seen in the following pages and on Youtube.

It’s been a while since I have updated on the 1965 Matchless G15 CSR and the 1969 Royal Enfield Interceptor 750 Series II  The Matchless is assembled and nearing completion for May 2015. The 69 RE is progressing slowly with some assembly this winter.

Check the following pages for updates.

My G15 mag was rebuilt by Gregg Kricorissian in Ottawa gregg-k@spyder-it.com  Gregg is well known in the vintage bike community and more so with the Royal Enfield Interceptors.

The 64 was just placed into my local vintage calendar and she shines. In running condition and driven locally, here she is on YOUTUBE

Cheers Bobby Baum

1964 Royal Enfield Interceptor

In 2012 here she is running and in all of her glory. Check her out on Youtube

Well after many years of searching for parts, making parts and assembly, the girl has made it to the Calgary Bike Show 2010.

For the newbies to British vintage motorcycles, I want you to notice the shifter is on the right and the brake is on the left side.This motorcycle also has another shift lever for neutral finding. One kick in any gear and  neutral is your friend.

The shift pattern is one up, three down.

Myself being left handed, I’m sure my grade one teacher would have had her yardstick close by to knock some sense into this machine like she did to me. My wrists still fear her to this day.  Another story I haven’t got over.

Riding the Interceptor is far more a pleasant experience though. Once you get your senses to remember the brake is on the left. The sound is very rewarding to the ears. Much less so for the competition left behind you.

The girl is also a bike of the month club member at BURTON BIKES

G15CSR Centre stand / Brake light switch and bracket / Speedo, Tach and cables

Thanks to Dave C in Connecticut who graciously gave me a nice schematic for the centre stand axle. I didn’t have one and decided to make my own. With a little help from friends. It turned out very well.

I hope you can read this.

Looks great in polished steel.  2- 7/16 x 26 TPI nuts, 2 collars, 1 axle and one spacer

One stand completed

Installing the centre stand should be done when the motor and transmission are not installed. If you are installing on a built bike, good luck.

I made a spacer stud to fit into the centre stand between the two bushings ,thus holding the spacer and spring in place.

I moved the unit into place forcing the spring into it’s locator hole.

The stand was moved into its mounting location, the stud was tapped through forcing the spacer stud out.

The long end of the spring was then moved over the stand cross bar and into place.

It took two people for this to work.

BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH AND BRACKET

I didn’t have any clear pictures for the brake light switch to see how it was mounted. Andrew G from Ontario sent me a nice picture of the bracket.

I made my own bracket and modified the switch for the C.S.R.

When the brake moves forward it activates this switch. The switch can easily be modified to work this way.

Side view showing bracket offset

The CSR with (borrowed) original pipes on for measuring clearances.

The shifter which faces rearward clears the pipes. Note the shifter on British bikes of the day were on the right and the brake on the left side.

Brake pedal has enough room for travel.

Using new Amal carbs.

The CSR in assembly.

Oil tank with original paint and decals

The Smiths Speedometers, Tachometers and cables for the G15 CSR and the Royal Enfield 750 Interceptors all came from Vintage British Cables. Some of instruments came from the late owner that Andy bought from and my cables from Andy directly.

I asked Andy what he uses for cable lubricants on his products.
I use AeroShell 22 grease. This is a synthetic aircraft grease and is not easily found. A good EP2 chassis grease will work fine. The trick is to use the grease sparingly. I see a lot of instrument failures due to over greasing. The grease will work its way up the cable and into the instrument. After inserting a freshly greased inner cable, it should be withdrawn and the wiped clean on the first 8–10 inches. When a freshly greased cable is inserted, a lot of grease will transfer to the inside of the outer cable at the instrument end.
Oil is to be avoided on instrument cables.
The frequency you lubricate your cable will depend on how much you ride.
Annually should be sufficient for a bike rode regularly. Less often for low use bikes. Grease will dry out over long periods of time. Just be sure to remember that over greasing will damage the instrument.
Andy

Vintage British cables

THE  G15 C.S.R. IS CLOSE TO BEING FINISHED

Just waiting for the painted parts to be completed and installed.

The paint is done.

Just a few ends to complete

The candy apple red is nice

THE MIGHTY 750 INTERCEPTOR

The Interceptor was King of the streets and not recognized for being a strong contender. It was the fastest PRODUCTION BIKE from 1965 to 1969. Only the Kawasaki Mach Three 500 and the Honda 750 4 were able to dethrone the king. As per Cycle World tests  The INTERCEPTOR was quicker than larger bikes of the day and a true contender to be dealt with. Yes other NON production bikes were faster, but those machines were altered after the factory. The Harley Sportster was 900cc at the time and didn’t perform as well as the RE Interceptor.

Bobby Baum

1969 ROYAL ENFIELD INTERCEPTOR #1B1668

I have added some links to excellent U Tube videos of a 1970 Royal Enfield running and many videos of a 70 RE tear down. See the links on the main page. I’m sure you will find these a good guide for your Interceptor project.

Aug. 2010.

I just bought #1668 a rolling basket to add to the mix. It’s been 20 years waiting to get a Series II back in the stable.

The motor appears in good shape as it turns over easily. A closer inspection hopefully reveals the same.

The bike had been in the process of restoration ( many years ago and left as is) as many new parts are on this machine. Some of which include new valves, pistons +0.020, and rings. The cylinders have been honed and the heads assembled, sans the cross rings. The cross rings seal the combustion chamber in lieu of a head gasket  No chance this would have run for long if it did start.

This is the Holy Grail of Royal Enfield’s as it is near the last of the production run. Which lasted until 1970.

The core of this bike is there and ready for restoration.

I mocked it up with parts that are on hand to see how they fit. Some adjustments will be made.

Here is the mock up April 2012

Initial tear down

I opened up the primary and noticed that one of the clutch tension  screws was damaged at some point and welded. The inside of the  outer primary cover has some visible scars from scraping.

I removed the stator and this picture shows the spacer and lock nut on the shaft.

The clutch  being disassembled with the pressure plate off.

The upper half of the case is brighter due to someone painting the engine with aluminum paint to hide the dirt or make it appealing to a buyer.

The death wish of a rebuild. This is the pile of silicone that came from the engine. Someone with good intentions tried to rebuild 1668 and thanks god never quite made it to a running stage. If it did run it would’t have been for long.

You need to use an anaerobic sealant. It seals under pressure and can still be diluted by the oils if were to enter an oil galley.

The bearing on this side is a 6209 deep groove ball bearing. I will replace it with the same but with a seal to the outside. 6209DDUC3E. This bearing has seal on both sides. Remove the outside seal. C3 stands for clearances greater than normal.

The timing side bearing is an N209W

The splined washer which you can see in this picture is 0.185″ and is too thick for the clutch. I t was causing the clutch pressure plate to rub against the outer primary cover. A thinner one (0.075″) has been ordered from Hitchcocks in England

BELOW

This a shot of the heads before and after glass beading with #7 glass bead. CAREFUL TO WASH THE GLASS FROM ALL OF THE PORTS WITH  SOAP AND WATER. USE A SMALL TOOTHBRUSH OR SOMETHING SIMILAR TO ENSURE THERE IS NO GLASS RESIDUE LEFT ON THE SURFACES.

The frame has to be spread ever so slightly to allow the swing arm removal. I use some thread all to do the job.

Below: A clear sign that someone has had this apart before. The transmission mounting block has been painted black. It should be clean metal like the cases.

Note: The 4 bolts that hold the transmission and engine cases together are the Royal Enfield Interceptors answer to unit construction. The pieces all fit together to make a strengthened unit. This will keep the primary from from flexing between the engine and transmission. Much like the late model HD engines have done. Just took them 40 plus years to figure it out.

The bike is completely disassembled, bead blasted and ready for powder coating. All of the black parts will be done soon.

The parts all lined up before powder coating.

A whole new look after powder coating and looking fast already.

Now just a few nuts and bolts, an engine, some money for parts and some time to assemble. Sounds easy enough.

I made the mistake of not removing the bushing before powder coating. Too much of a rush. I used a hack saw blade to cut them out and it took about 30 minutes to do.The old ones are in the centre of the swing arm.

The new ones are ready to be pressed in.

The new bushings are done. The frame, swing arm and rear section are coming together. New Hagons help make the whole project look good.

The tank has suffered some abuse by knees or being bumped by riders. Here are the before pictures and when the tank is done. I will post the completed pictures. Some dents will have to be repaired and one of the taps realigned.

The tank has been repaired and chromed as best to original as I can get with out spending more than it is worth to fix. The sides were bad and long story here about the chrome shop so I’ll leave it there.

I will set the ROYAL ENFIELD decals on each side later.

Here it is with the decals applied. Not original, but a good substitute.

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Here are Series I  Interceptor engine cut away pictures from the Royal Enfield   France rally

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My end goal will be to have a finished bike like this fine Interceptor below. Note the extras. The hand rail, oil cooler, skid plate and double acting front brake are all on this bike. I use this one as my guide.

I would like to hear from other Interceptor owners.

An interesting note is that the 69 Interceptor forks, tubes, fork legs and wheel are the exact  fit as the 1966 G15 CSR listed below

Bobby Baum

THE MATCHLESS G15 CSR IN PROGRESS

This bike is one of about 500 made. It is a HYBRID built out of the remaining legacy of AMC / MATCHLESS and NORTON. Built with the Norton Atlas engine, AMC transmission, Matchless primary and tucked into the Matchless frame. The Norton Road Handler forks set up the front end along with the Norton hubs front and rear. (Later models may vary from this one)

Now back to the Hybrid portion that really makes this bike unique is the swept back pipes, rear set foot pegs, shifter facing rearward with the mechanical altered to shift normal. The indicator on the transmission also is reverse from what you would see on a normal shifting transmission. Flat handle bars for the forward leaning rider were a significant style for this bike as well.

This  combined together made this bike one of, if not the first, production crotch rockets as we know them today.

For more information on this model of bike, please check the AJS Matchless link.  Also look at Yahoo groups. Matchless.

Most of the required parts are now on hand to complete this bike. Work will progress in the late fall and into 2011.

OCT 29, 2010 UPDATE

The rear set pegs have been machined to fit. These pegs had been my bane for some time now. The wheels are in progress with the old bearings and new ones to be installed after polishing the hubs. New rims are on hand along with S.S. spokes to be laced.

AHHHhh progress.

A new / used rolling table from the auction is aiding in the restoration process. It can roll back against the wall when not in use and allow for easy access to all sides of the bike.

The oil tank and tool / battery box are originals, currently with the stock paint. The tool box kidney shape cover as fitted to the box. I had a few covers that did not fit the box due to some sort of distortion. The dust is optional.

This is the mock up to date. Nov 26, 2010. Just sorting out parts before having the cases welded at the cylinder base to repair a pulled stud.

The mufflers are a non standard set from the 69 Interceptor.

BELOW:

The CSR engine is coming together. At least in thought. I managed to get  some studs replaced which will enable this project to progress.

Coming together with many stainless steel fittings

Gotta lova girl with long legs

 

 

 

 

 

Finally have the clutch together with the help of a tool to compress the rubbers. I was amazed at the force required to compress them.

Lot of minor set backs with a bolt or screw too short or threads in need of repair. One step at a time to get there

 

 

The transmission cover required some welding to repair a broken screw hole. The alignment pin hole had a crack to repair as well.

The repair turned out well. Thanks to some good welding by a local.

The transmission is ready for assembly.

A few weeks later and I have an assembled transmission. Note the gear indication marks are reverse from the normal pattern.

I cleaned up the clutch basket and plates. All appear to be in reasonable shape.

Below are some pictures of  completed bikes from the internet.

I believe that the stripes on the tank were not original and were added after a repaint. They look great and add depth to the paint.

The Connecticut Brit Jam had threeG15 CSR bikes on show.

Here are three excellent Matchless G15 CSR 750 bikes at the 2010 CT. Brit Bike Jam.

The swept back pipes are the signature of this model (year) as well as the rear set foot pegs. Later models did not have a full compliment of distinct features.

Note: the tach drives on all of these machines canter forward to clear the pipes, also a signature.

Three sisters with long legs and big (jugs) cylinders. You have to love it.

Here’s one in progress from the New York area.

Bobby Baum

64 ROYAL ENFIELD 750 INTERCEPTOR Coming together

This is the completed bike Nov 2010. Has yet to be started. The plan is to start it up in a couple of months.

 

In this picture you can see the high handle bars that I thought were original

THE FRAME MOCK UP AND BUILD

After powder coating some of the parts, I assembled to see how they fit and check for parts that are missing. The core of the machine is there and a great motivator to continue. The handle bars are not correct and soon find replacements being mounted. This bike came from California and had some of the chopper age modifications done to it like the higher bars, tail piece cut off and fender moved.

The gas tank is shown here with the tank panels chromed. The badges were badly damaged and needed to be replaced. The bars and mounting brackets have been chromed and attached to the polished instrument nacelle.

The RE didn’t come with all of the parts polished, but they do have some nice pieces to bring alive on this machine.

Here is the initial mock up of the motor, transmission, center stand and primary case.

NOTE :

The magneto is a clockwise turning set up for the RE. Many  others use counter clock wise rotation. I had the magneto rebuilt and the builder set it up as he does many others in counter clockwise version. It took many hours and discussion with RE members on line to notice the set up was wrong. AN honest mistake by the builder but a huge frustration trying to seek an answer to starting problems.

This is NOT the right set up. This is the CCW points set up with a cam ring for same. The CW cam ring and points are required.

ENGINE MOCK UP / BREATHER UPGRADE FOR THE ROYAL ENFIELD 750 INTERCEPTOR

I upgraded the breather size to accommodate the mods made to the entire crankcase breathing system.

Thanks to the suggestions made by a Canadian Interceptor guru.

You can see the timing case changes in the following pictures. The completed case and the before.

Dec 22, 08

I recently took some time to work on my long overdue RE. The main part of the motor and tranny have been in the frame for some time now. I just had to put on the timing cover and finish the cylinder and head assembly. Well, all was going very smoothly until I noticed the cam chain tensioner cam was pulling towards the rear of the engine. I disassembled the cam chains and tensioner and found the hole for the chain tensioner cam IS OBLONG. OK, so I call one of the locals on our list and ask him for his advice as I know he will talk me through this MINOR problem. I’m sure, many others have encountered and resolved this same issue with some glue and toothpicks and I need not make the appointment with my Psychologist that I foresee in my future. OK, so my friend is unable to tell me what I want to hear. 

The hole that I am talking about, is the one to the right of the brass screw.

UPDATE: I have been able to make the adjuster work (in trial) by placing a larger washer over the adjusting plate. This seems to assist with keeping the adjuster aligned for assembly. 

64 ROYAL ENFIELD 750 FIRST MOCK UP

IT TAKES SEVERAL MOCK UPS TO SEE WHAT PARTS YOU HAVE AND HOW THEY FIT. THIS WAS AN EARLY MOCK UP TO FIT SOME HAND MADE PARTS AND THE SEAT.